Child Support Enforcement in Louisiana

If you have a child support order in Louisiana but haven't been receiving the payments on time—or at all—the state and its courts can help you collect the money. And if you're a delinquent parent, you need to know the potential consequences of failing to pay child support.

Income Assignment for Child Support

Whenever a court in Louisiana issues a child support order, it must also order an immediate income assignment unless it wouldn't be in the child's best interests, the parents have a written agreement for a different payment method, or the parent who owes support has made on-time payments under any previous support award during the past year.

With income assignment, the child support payments are automatically deducted from the paying parent's income and forwarded to the recipient parent. Income assignment doesn't only apply to wages from a job. Child support can also be withheld from any periodic or one-time payments the parent receives, including:

• compensation as an independent contractor
• bonuses and commissions
• unemployment, workers' compensation, and disability benefits
• annuity payments and retirement benefits
• interest payments, and
• settlements and judgments in legal cases.

If income assignment isn't already in place, a parent may request an assignment order as soon as the other parent owes at least one month's worth of overdue payments. First, however, the recipient parent will need to send a notice to the delinquent parent. (A state agency will take care of this if it's already providing services in the case, as explained below.) The delinquent parent will have 15 days to contest the order.

(La. Rev. Stat. § 46:236.3 (2024).)

The Role of Louisiana's Child Support Enforcement Agency

Like all other states, Louisiana has an agency—known as the Child Support Enforcement program (CSE)—meant to help parents collect and enforce child support. Depending on how much a parent owes in overdue support ("arrearages"), CSE has various enforcement methods, including:

• getting an income assignment order to collect the overdue support (along with the current payments)
• intercepting income tax refunds
• seizing the money from the delinquent parent's bank accounts
• filing liens on property, so the delinquent parent can't sell or borrow money on the property without paying the support debt
• reporting the debt to consumer credit agencies, which can hurt the parent's credit rating
• having the delinquent parent's driver's license, professional or occupational license, recreational licenses, or passport suspended or revoked, and
• pursuing contempt proceedings in court (more on that below).

CSE can also help locate absent parents.

Enforcing Child Support in Louisiana's Courts

You also have the option of going directly to court to have your ex found in contempt of court for failing to pay child support. Whether CSE starts the contempt proceedings or you do this by filing a "rule for contempt," the other parent will have the right to appear at the hearing and try to convince the judge that they weren't able to pay the overdue support.

Under Louisiana law, a judge will find a delinquent parent guilty of contempt only if that parent knew about the child support order and one of the following is true:

• the delinquent parent had the ability to pay at least some of the amount due with available resources
• the parent could have acquired that ability with some effort but refused or failed to do so, or
• in cases when the child is receiving public assistance, the delinquent parent failed to participate in a CSE program to help parents pay support.

Parents found guilty of contempt for failing to pay child support in Louisiana may face fines of up to $500, up to three months in jail, or both. But the judge may decide to suspend the sentence if the parent pays the total amount due, as well as all court costs for the contempt proceeding.

(La. Rev. Stat. §§ 13:4611, 46:236.6 (2024).)

When Can Deadbeat Parents Face Criminal Charges?

Deadbeat parents who intentionally fail to pay support for any child who lives in Louisiana may face criminal charges if they haven't paid in more than six months or owe more than $2,000 in back support. The maximum penalty for a first offense is a $500 fine, six months in jail, or both. The penalty for a subsequent offense goes up to two years in prison, a $2,500 fine, or both. (La. Rev. Stat. § 14:75 (2024).)

Delinquent parents may also face federal criminal charges if they willfully refuse to pay child support, and they:

• live in a different state than the child or have traveled to another state to avoid paying support, and
• haven't paid support in more than a year or owe at least $5,000 in back support.

(18 U.S.C. § 228 (2024).)

Getting Help With Child Support Enforcement

If you're having trouble collecting child support, your first step should be to get help from Louisiana's CSE. You'll need to apply for services and pay a small application fee ($25) unless you're receiving certain types of public assistance. When the agency collects at least $550 during a fiscal year, it will also charge a $35 annual fee for its services. When needed, CSE can also help establish a child support order in the first place, locate missing parents, and establish your child's legal paternity.

CSE may also help if you're having trouble paying child support because you've lost your job or experienced another financial setback. You can request a review of your existing support order to see if you qualify for a change in the amount you're supposed to pay.

Despite these resources, there are some situations when you may need help from a family law attorney. This is especially true if you're being charged with contempt or criminal nonsupport, or if you're planning to enforce your child support order directly in court—for instance, when CSE is taking too long.